For the fifth anniversary of Philadelphia’s Green Line Cafe, co-proprietors Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut decided to celebrate with a host of national and regional music talent, and make it a fundraiser while they were at it.
Songs on the Green Line is a 13-song compilation CD featuring nationally recognized acts such as The Innocence Mission, Denison Witmer, and Birdie Busch, and Philly up-and-comers like Devin Greenwood, Jack Ohly, and Fan of Friends, plus others. All of the profits from Songs on the Green Line will be donated to Cooperativa San Fernando, a farmer-owned coffee cooperative located high in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
THEN
When it opened its doors in 2003, The Green Line made a point to support the local artists and musicians who populate its West Philly neighborhood. Music shows were booked haphazardly until 2005, when the cafe partnered with local promoter Rich Wexler of Sherman Arts. Together they developed a program that focused on semi-acoustic shows that fit in the tiny café space. The Green Line became known as a great listening room, and with shows that began and ended on the early side, it became an attractive spot for acts who could book an acoustic show at the café, then rock out later the same night at another venue. The café began drawing bigger national and international acts and received good critical press in the Philly papers.
AND NOW
Meanwhile, The Green Line, which had always served organic Fair Trade coffee from Equal Exchange, was doing exciting work on that front, too, becoming a co-founder of Independents Coffee Cooperative (www.independentscoffee.com). Through their work with Independents, The Green Line formed a unique direct relationship with the Peruvian farmer-owned Cooperativa San Fernando, where The Green Line’s house coffee is grown. This past fall, several representatives of Cooperativa San Fernando visited The Green Line and other Independents Coffee Cooperative shops. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the coffee farmers to see where their coffee actually ends up, and also for coffee customers to meet face-to-face the people who grew and hand-picked the coffee in their cup.
Out of this, the Green Line and Independents pledged to raise money to help Cooperativa San Fernando build a much-needed solar coffee drying facility.
When it came time to celebrate the café’s anniversary, it was an easy fit to bring together the goals of supporting both local independent music and global small-scale independent coffee into one project: Songs on the Green Line.
Songs on the Green Line, available here
Track Listing
1--Drag-Out Blues / Soltero
2--Venezuela / Devin Greenwood
3--Song for Tom / The Innocence Mission
4--The Same Light / Jack Ohly
5--All the Days and Nights--Denison Witmer & River Bends
6--There'll be Pizza In the Valley / Little Ocean
7--Slightly Under Water / Red Heart the Ticker
8--Wednesday / Bird and the Buffalo
9--New Song / Birdie Busch
10--Shut Up / The Corndawg
11--Ounce of Understanding / Circles
12--Poison / The Weeds
13--You Deserve a Coffee Break / Fan of Friends
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